Move to California

Most of the early Americans were interested in California in the late eighteenth century. The process of resettlement began when merchants discovered the existence of a lucrative business in China. It considers to be the main motive for Americans to move to California.

Discussion

Once the earliest Americans discovered the highly lucrative market of the sea otter fur in China, they became heavily motivated to move and settle in California. The neighboring pacific coast right from Aleutian isand down to the Lower California was a favorable environment for the sea otter. As a result, the skin of a duly grown sea otter was over 2 feet wide and 5 feet long. In addition, the skin was thick and had a glossy black fur, which cost about $300, when it was shipped to the canton port of China custom officials. After some time, the trade of sea otter skin and fur became almost exterminated in the cost of California (Rawls and Bean, 2003, p.75). It is worth nothing that, the booming business of skin, hides, and fur in California motivated most of the early Americans to move to California. Thee high prices charged for the hides enabled the traders to record high profits of over 300 percent, because they partially evaded paying taxes or import duties. Traders preferred to pay some commission for custom officials to make them shut their eyes to this fact.

Conclusion

When the first Americans arrived in California, they wrote letters to people they left behind, praising the land of California. They mentioned the favorable climate, but did not mention the difficulties, they were confronted with.